1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cleaning tools and methods for cleaning hard to reach surfaces.
2. Background Information
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has mandated tougher penalties for individuals and companies that do not comply with the correct procedures when dealing with the environment. For example, the laws and regulations of discharging wastewater into the storm drains have become more strict.
A serious problem associated with traditional water-based vehicle (e.g., car, boat or plane) washing is the harm to the environment with petroleum-based products and detergents—more specifically soaps and surfactants—and the contaminants, e.g., oil, grease, exhaust soot, hydraulic fluid, etc., that are being washed off the vehicle. All of these contaminants and detergents are being washed down the drain. Typically, street drains flow directly into their nearest river, so the detergents and other contaminants from the vehicle washing are harming the environment and wildlife, as they are not biodegradable.
Generally, storm drains are owned by the City, so every City must approve of the discharge of water. All storm drains lead to state rivers and creeks. Therefore, the EPA and one or more States have jurisdiction.
Dry washing is becoming more and more popular throughout the world for two primary reasons—to circumvent the need for any EPA or State involvement, and the need to conserve water, especially in areas with limited water recourses.
A dry wash is a technique used to wash a vehicle without the use of water (also called a waterless wash or dry cleaning) and without the attendant wastewater runoff. This technique uses a product that contains many different ingredients, including wetting agents, lubricants and protectants. With proper application, the product lifts dirt from the vehicle by emulsification.
The application process does not involve high pressure nor any extensive rubbing. It also does not require “soaking,” or the use of a high volume of product. Generally, there are 3 steps involved: 1) spray a suitable cleaning compound product onto the to-be-cleaned surface (or a pad or cloth which will be used to clean the surface), 2) agitate the surface(s) with a damp pad (with or without cleaning solution applied), and 3) remove contaminant-laden cleaning solution with a second, dry pad. In order to clean high or hard to reach areas (which predominate in cases of larger aircraft, RV's, boats, trucks, and the like), a ladder, or a much more expensive hydraulic lift device is typically required.
Hydraulic lift devices are often unavailable, and ladders can, in the event of an all-to-frequent fall, be very dangerous to the user, as well as to the vehicle, plane or structure being cleaned. In fact, one of the most potentially hazardous, everyday tools—the common extension ladder or stepladder—sends more than 222,000 people to emergency rooms each year. “The number of emergency room visits from ladder-related injuries totals more than those for lawn mowers and home workshop saws combined,” warns John Drengenberg, manager of Consumer Affairs at Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), the not-for-profit product safety organization.
Currently, some consumers and professionals attempt to use a single padded pole for all waterless or dry wash products, the pad of which must: (1) be immediately removed before the cleaning solution dries, and (2) be quickly replaced with a “wipe off” pad (if such is to be used). In the time it takes to change the pad of a single padded pole, the dry wash product often will have dried, thereby making the over-all cleaning process much more time and labor-intensive. The only other alternative (little more effective and very time inefficient) is using multiple such devices.
Further still, existing devices with distally mounted cleaning pads that are in any meaningful way adaptable for use in cleaning such things as airplanes, RVs, trucks, and the like are lacking in any means for themselves assisting in accommodating varying orientations and/or contours of the surfaces which are to be cleaned. In other words, if a to-be-cleaned surface lies at a 45° angle relative to the horizontal, the conventional pole will require manipulation at the user end for properly aligning the cleaning pad with the surface for effective cleaning or drying. This alone exacerbates the danger, time consumption and user fatigue associated with current modes of cleaning, as users must “contort” themselves to varying degrees to effectively clean and dry the to-be-cleaned surfaces.
Despite all of the benefits of waterless or dry washing, optimal equipment for carrying out the process is currently absent from the marketplace.